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After his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it performance in last year’s Smile 2, audiences have longed to see Ray Nicholson, son of star Jack Nicholson, within the horror genre again. Thankfully, he plays the starring role in Borderline, a horror-comedy hybrid also featuring fan-favourite Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) alongside him. Nicholson plays a helplessly romantic sociopath who escapes from a mental institution and invades the home of a 90s pop superstar. He just wants to be loved, and she just wants to survive. Brimming with hilarious comedy delivered by two fantastic performances, Borderline is an incredibly fun watch that, despite feeling messy and over-saturated, delights regardless with its talented cast and humorous script.
It’s worth noting that Borderline is much more a comedy than it is a horror. It certainly has its moments of violence that will satiate horror fans’ desire for blood and gore, and Nicholson manages to create a very creepy presence in this role. One interesting character in particular, played perfectly by Alba Baptista (Mrs Harris Goes to Paris), has a proclivity for brutality, delivers a few entertaining kills, and ensures to blood-soak the story. However, it is much more focused on delivering laughs than scares – luckily, this pays off. Laugh-out-loud funny from start to finish, Borderline is a hilarious affair thanks to the comedic timing of the cast, witty writing, and absurdity of the plot. Many jokes feel pretty random, such as a cop performing a dance routine on the street, but it’s so insane and ludicrous that it’s hard not to love it. The third act especially, featuring Jimmie Fails (Nickel Boys) in a wedding dress and another character with a bullet wound in his head, offers up a commendable amount of giggles.
Ray Nicholson and Samara Weaving are obvious stand-outs within Borderline. Nicholson adds an eerie layer of charm to his sociopathic character, making him both frightening and funny at once. Proving he has what it takes to lead a movie, it’s hard not to be mesmerized by him every time he’s on screen. Weaving does not play your usual damsel in distress; giving a hilarious performance as pop star Sofia. Utterly confused by the weirdness of her captor and daring to make it through the night, Weaving creates yet another badass final girl… if she survives. However, Borderline goes one step further by providing an excellent supporting cast, winding up delivering quite the ensemble. Jimmie Fails has been gracing our screens more regularly recently, and he is great here, especially where the comedy is concerned.
As mentioned, Alba Baptista stars as a fellow mental institution escapee, and although the existence of her character within the script is a little odd, Baptista is very impressive. Rounding out the cast is Eric Dane (Euphoria), starring as Sofia’s bodyguard and frequent punching bag of Nicholson’s sociopathic stalker. All understanding the assignment, delivering their comedic scenes and thrilling sequences equally well, the cast are endlessly impressive.
Borderline fails to hit a complete home run due to how messy things become. Though it is always having fun and ensuring the audience is, it’s undeniably all over the place, becoming more frantic as the run-time progresses. Firstly, it has too many characters, a few of which could be entirely written out with the script left unaffected. This also renders our core crew underdeveloped. Despite the majority of the humor landing with ease, there are times in which its quirkiness and desire to be different feels a little bit forced. Multiple plot threads and weird-for-weird’s-sake segments don’t do this story any favours. However, the cast is on hand to ensure Borderline is a violent, entertaining ride. With a fun soundtrack full of ’90s bangers, a talented ensemble, wicked laughs, and plenty of spark, Borderline is well worth the watch.
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Grade: B-
Borderline
A helplessly romantic sociopath escapes from a mental institution and invades the home of a '90s pop superstar. He just wants to be loved; she just wants to survive.
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Director: Jimmy Warden
Cast: Samara Weaving , Ray Nicholson , Jimmie Fails
